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Harvey Pekar statue to be dedicated Oct. 14

When Harvey Pekar died in July 2010, the world of comics lost one of its greatest creators. Fortunately, Harvey's legacy will live on in books like American Splendor and Our Cancer Year, but his importance

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When Harvey Pekar died in July 2010, the world of comics lost one of its greatest creators.

Fortunately, Harvey's legacy will live on in such books as American Splendor and Our Cancer Year, but his importance also will be recognized with a well-deserved statue in front of the Lee Road branch of the Cleveland Heights-University Heights Public Library. Even better? The statue is the product of a crowd-sourced Kickstarter campaign organized by Pekar's widow, Joyce Brabner, and the Harvey Pekar Estate.

There's going to be dedication ceremony for the statue Oct. 14, and the fact that this is happening is the sort of thing that makes you feel good about the world.

There's a new, work-in-progress video of the statue being made that found its way online recently, and you can check out more videos and photos on the statue's Kickstarter page – including a shot of the miniature version of the statue.

I had the good fortune to talk with Harvey several times over the years, and it was always a fun conversation. I first interviewed him years ago for The Pekar Project, an online comic he'd been working on, and most recently I spoke with Joyce and artist Joseph Remnant about Harvey Pekar's Cleveland, a graphic novel Harvey began before his death that was published posthumously.

If you haven't had the chance to check it out, make sure to do so. It's a wonderful ode to a city that may not get a lot of love, but held a special place in Harvey's heart.